Summary:
SK2 is one of two shikimate kinases from Arabidopsis thaliana that phosphorylate shikimate. As part of the shikimate pathway, these enzymes help to move carbon from primary metabolism to a broad range of secondary metabolites important for plant growth, development, and survival under stress [Fucile08].

Although they have relatively similar enzymatic activities, SK1 and SK2 expression patterns are different with SK1 transcripts being expressed most highly in mature embryos and senescing leaves while SK2 transcripts are expressed throughout vegetative development and early on during embryogenesis. In addition, SK1 transcripts rise during heat stress and recovery, whereas SK2 has higher levels of transcripts following innoculation with spores of Phytophthora infestans [Fucile08].

It is believed that this protein is found in the chloroplast based on the presence of a putative N-terminal transit peptide and based on the observation that shikimate kinases from spinach and tomato are targeted to the chloroplast [Schmidt90a, Schmid92a, Fucile08].

Summary:
A recombinant form of this enzyme was characterized that lacked the first 55 amino acids, which are predicted to be part of a chloroplast N-terminal transit peptide. The approximate molecular mass of the truncated protein was 27.5 kDa [Fucile08].